


How To Talk So Your Edgelord Will Listen, And How To Listen So Your Edgelord Will Talk

by HouseofSannae



Series: Kingdom Hearts Ψ [16]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angry children yelling at each other, Gen, My longest fic title yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 05:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17380361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HouseofSannae/pseuds/HouseofSannae
Summary: Fed up with his general attitude and one comment in particular, Roxas drags Vanitas away for a private chat.





	How To Talk So Your Edgelord Will Listen, And How To Listen So Your Edgelord Will Talk

            Having Vanitas around was taking some readjusting.

            Despite, or maybe because of, his years without a heart, Lea was pretty good at reading tension in the air. Currently, he could have cut it with his Keyblade; hell, he could have cut it with _Kairi’s_ Keyblade, flowers and all.

            Following Vanitas’s declaration, he had begrudgingly started joining in on meals and training sessions. He was still having difficulty summoning his Keyblade, and was not a fan of the wooden sword they were having him use instead. The typical target of his ire was Aqua; though to be fair she wasn’t doing anything to make herself less of one. She was still just as mistrustful as she’d been before, even though she knew she ought to give Vanitas the benefit of the doubt. Admittedly, she was trying.

            Unfortunately, Vanitas was also quite trying.

            Lea wasn’t sure if it was a benefit or a hindrance that both Ventus and Vanitas seemed to be trying to avoid each other. It made sense to him; it was one thing for Ven to believe that Vanitas could be better, quite another to deal with him immediately. Vanitas made no bones about how he felt about Ventus, either; loud derision of his other was one of the ways he delighted in pissing Aqua off.

            Sora was trying to ease the transition as best he could, but it was slow going; Lea wasn’t about to disparage his ability to get through to people, considering how well it had worked in the past, but Vanitas was digging his heels in. Lea couldn’t blame him, after everything he’d been through. It’s hard to learn to trust people if you’d spent your formative years working for an abusive jackass.

            It came to a head when Sora, with of course the best intentions, tried to get Vanitas to sit down with Ven and Aqua to talk over how they were feeling.

            It might have worked better if he’d told any of them that he was doing this beforehand. Or if he had picked a relatively private location instead of the common room where Lea, Xion, and Roxas were also hanging out. In fairness, Sora had picked a set of chairs on the other side of the room from where Lea and Roxas were sitting on the couch with Xion stretched out between them, her head in Roxas’s lap and her feet in Lea’s. Roxas was idly petting her head while he read, and Lea had resigned himself to being a footrest.

            “Explain, asshole,” Vanitas said to Sora, glaring at him while ignoring both Aqua’s glare at him and Ven’s inability to look at him. Vanitas’s week had been mostly one-on-one meetings with Yen Sid, talking about Vanitas’s least favourite topic. On one level, he understood that his perspective on Xehanort was unique; Yen Sid had never seen what Xehanort was like when he wasn’t playing the role of the reclusive, but supposedly reformed, Master. However, talking about the – about Xehanort left a disgusting taste in his mouth. The last thing he wanted right now was to deal with Aqua, or Sora, or _Ventus_. Let alone all three at once.

            “Language,” Aqua said, softly, but everyone could hear the scorn in her words. “But I would like an explanation, too, Sora. Why?”

            Sora shrugged. “Look, I know none of you like it, but we’re all on the same side now. You guys have to talk to each other at some point, clear the air.”

            “No,” said Aqua.

            “Not happening,” said Vanitas.

            Ventus said nothing.

            Sora sighed. “Van–”

            “Stop calling me that!”

            “–I know you still think we’re hopeless. And you’re kind of right. Each of us, on our own, probably couldn’t beat Xehanort. But the whole point is none of us are alone! We’re stronger together, with our friends! So, that means you three need to at least agree to work together. What do you say?” Sora’s smile was infectious.

            But Vanitas was heavily vaccinated. “Absolutely not. Do you really think, even together, that you stand a chance? With you the grinning idiot, Princess swears-a-lot, Mr. No-self-confidence, the flamer in every sense of the word–”

            “Hey, I resemble that last remark,” Lea called, grinning.

            “– the art freak, anger management issues, the animals, and _Ventus_?”

            “What, I don’t rate?” Aqua said, spiteful.

            Vanitas shook a hand dismissively. “Your ability in a fight I actually respect.”

            She blinked, confused.

            “You forgot Xion,” Sora pointed out. “…kinda hope you didn’t do that on purpose.”

            Vanitas scoffed. “What, like the _puppet_ is going to be of any help?”

            A chilly, cold silence descended upon the room, punctuated only by the sound of a book snapping shut. Vanitas, Ventus, Sora, and Aqua looked over as Roxas slowly lowered his now-closed book, setting it gently on the end table next to his couch and rising to his feet. He took a deep breath, in and out.

            “Yep,” he said, softly.

            He started walking, not towards the standing trio, but towards the door. “Roxas, where are you–” Lea started to ask, but Roxas held up a hand, and he silenced himself.

            Roxas stopped in the doorframe. “I will be right back. Just so we’re clear,” he said, calmly, “if any one of you so much as twitches, I’ll kill everyone in the room. Understood?” He took their silence as their answer.

            “…what the fuck?” Vanitas said, confused. No one answered him; Aqua didn’t even bother to scold him for his word choice. They all just sat there in stunned silence.

            Lea and Xion exchanged a look. They’d seen Roxas angry before, of course, but usually he was loud, he shouted; he’d make you understand, in no uncertain terms, that he was upset.

            This, though, was something they’d never seen from their friend. There’s a point where anger becomes so fierce, so powerful, that a person will pass straight through rage and out the other side. It’s one thing to be so angry you’re furious. It’s quite another to be so angry you’re _calm_.

            Roxas stepped back into the room, still exerting that air of perfect serenity. However, he was now dressed in his Organization uniform. “Axel, Xion,” he said, softly. “I’m stepping out for a bit. Ideally, this won’t take long, but that depends on _him_.”

            “Roxas, really, it doesn’t bother me–” Xion started, but he smiled at her, sadly, and said, “I know that. But it bothers _me_.”

            He stepped over to Vanitas and seized him by the front of his dark suit. “What the hell are you–” Vanitas started, but Roxas held up a single finger in front of Vanitas’s face, and the look on Roxas’s was enough to stun him into silence.

            “Axel,” Roxas called. “Would you mind going to Yen Sid and telling him about this? I think it might have slipped his notice.”

            “About what?” Lea started to ask, but he stopped as Roxas flicked his wrist and opened a Dark Corridor.

            In the midst of the stunned silence, Roxas hefted Vanitas, and tossed him through the dark portal. “I’m going to the usual spot, if you need to find us,” he said, conversationally.

            “Roxas…” Xion said, clenching a fist in front of her chest. “…Don’t kill him.”

            Roxas took two slow breaths, and smiled, sadly. “Xion, I love you, but… I can’t promise that.” With that, he flicked his hood up, and stepped through the Corridor.

 

 

            Vanitas flew backwards and impacted on what felt like stone or brick, gasping and sputtering for air. He’d never been through a Dark Corridor without his mask before, and it wasn’t an experience he was eager to repeat.

            He froze as Roxas stepped out of the Corridor with his hood up, and suddenly he realized why the coat was so damn familiar. The comparative height had thrown him off, but it was the Maste – Xehanort’s anti-Darkness coat, down to the silver fastenings.

            The boot Roxas placed on his chest was also based on the ones the Master wore. On a level below the instinctive terror, Vanitas was kicking himself for not realizing sooner.

            “I’m going to go get something,” Roxas said, with a threatening tone Vanitas had never thought he’d hear from Ventus’s voice. “You’re going to stay here until I get back. Am I clear?”

            “…yes,” Vanitas whispered.

            Roxas frowned, seeming confused, and looked down at his outfit. A look of sudden realization flashed across his face, and he slowly removed his boot from Vanitas’s chest. With one glance back at him, Roxas summoned another Corridor and stepped through.

            Vanitas slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, taking stock of where he was as the panic faded. There was a giant clock face on the wall behind him, a gentle breeze in the air, and as he breathed, a set of bells sounded. A clocktower of some sort.

            A peek over the low wall ahead of him confirmed it. He was high above the ground.

            The Ventus-lookalike wouldn’t need a Keyblade to kill him if he so desired.

            Vanitas slumped back against the wall and sighed, trying to stop his hands from trembling, trying to get the fear under control.

            It was getting harder and harder, not being able to release Unversed. He could feel the emotions building, roiling inside him, but there was nothing he could _do_ about them. They just wouldn’t _leave_.

            So entranced was he with getting himself under control, he didn’t notice Roxas had returned until the other boy had thrust something in front of his face. He started back from the black-gloved hand, on some level relieved it wasn’t a white gauntlet – although were those… bite marks, in the leather?

            To Vanitas’s continued confusion, Roxas was holding what looked like a blue brick of ice on a stick. “Take it,” he said. “It’s food.” He was holding another in his other hand. For some reason Vanitas didn’t comprehend, he’d ditched the coat, and was now wearing the black gloves and boots with black pants and his white-and-black plaid undershirt.

            “…What?” Vanitas asked, weakly.

            Roxas shrugged. “S’ice cream. Sea-salt flavor. Take it.”

            Slowly, Vanitas took the ice cream bar from Roxas, holding it limply, not knowing what to do with it. Roxas sat down on the crenellation and motioned for Vanitas to sit down next to him.

            “…the hell is this?” Vanitas asked.

            Roxas looked over at him. “Ice cream. Do you not know what–?”

            “Of course I know what fucking ice cream is,” Vanitas sneered. “I mean all this! You threw me through a Dark Corridor in a fit of rage, and now you’re _feeding_ me?”

            “Don’t get me wrong. I’m still fucking pissed at you. But that’s exactly what you want, isn’t it?” Roxas said, voice a steady monotone. “It’s easier to make everyone else angry than to deal with your own anger.”

            Vanitas scoffed. “What are you talking about?”

            “Eat your ice cream, it’s gonna start melting soon,” Roxas said, still in a monotone.

            Vanitas suddenly had a thought. It wasn’t, for him, a pleasant one. He knew exactly what this was.

            “Oh, fuck off,” he said. “This is you people trying to ‘fix’ me again, isn’t it? What, you think just because you give me food I’m suddenly going to be your best friend? Fuck you, not happening.”

            “Vanitas, I don’t think you understand your position here,” Roxas said. “I didn’t do this for you. I did this because it’s extremely hard to kill someone you’ve shared food with. And trust me, right now, I need all the reason not to kill you I can get.”

            “Oh, what, like you could kill someone,” Vanitas sneered. “Precious pretty-boy Ventus clone that’s still basically a child? You think ‘ice cream’ means friendship! What the flying _fuck_ could you possibly do to–?”

            Roxas’s hand lashed out, quicker than Vanitas could follow, and stuck him, open-palmed, against the ear. While he was reeling from that, Roxas grabbed him by the front of his suit and held him, dangling, over the side of the clocktower. He leaned in close, fury beyond anything Vanitas had seen from Ventus lining his features.

            “I’m. Not. Fucking. _Ventus_.” Roxas snarled. “I guess this is the only language you understand, huh? Am I clear? Or should I start referring to you as ‘Sora’?” Without waiting for an answer, he pulled Vanitas back over the edge, tossing him to the side.

            Vanitas landed awkwardly, his ear still ringing. “What the fuck,” he burst out, mind still reeling. “You could’ve burst my eardrum, you–”

            Roxas waved his hand dismissively. “Nothing a Cure wouldn’t have fixed.”

            “I don’t _know_ Cure, asshole!”

            Roxas looked over at him, apparently surprised. “Huh? Why don’t you know…” but the reason became clear as he thought about it. It’s easier to keep someone under control when they depend on you to fix their injuries. “Sorry,” he offered, quietly.

            “Don’t apologize to me,” Vanitas snapped. “I’m not that weak.”

            Roxas frowned. “I understand why you might think _giving_ apologies makes you ‘weak’ – and it doesn’t, by the way – but _receiving_ them?”

            “Never needed them before.” Vanitas muttered.

            “…Yeah, you did,” Roxas said, and went back to eating his ice cream.

            “Stop fucking doing that,” Vanitas said.

            “Eating? I’d die.”

            “No, all of you, assuming you know my shit better than I do! You aren’t me! You don’t _know_ me! Fuck off!”

            “Oh believe me, I’d _love_ to!” Roxas shouted back, the anger peeking through. “But just as much, you need fucking _help!_ And you’re going to get it, kicking and screaming if need be!”

            “What the fuck do I need help with?!” Vanitas screamed back. “I’m not like the rest of you! I’m not _weak!_ ”

            “Then explain to me, why do you keep trying to provoke the people who _don’t_ care about your wellbeing?!” Roxas demanded.

            “ _None of you give a shit about my wellbeing!_ ” Vanitas shouted. “Why should you?! I’m just a half-hearted freak! An abomination of nature that should have never existed! _And_ I _refuse_ to apologize for that! _I never asked to be made, but I am what I am!_ ”

            Roxas took a deep breath. It was a little surprising to him that Vanitas seemed, not angst-ridden, but almost _proud_ of what he was. In a “fuck you” sort of way. “Well, join the club. You don’t see Xion, Naminé, and me being pissy about it.”

            “You just don’t get it, do you?” Vanitas said, mocking. “I’m not like you three idiots. I only have half a fucking heart. I’m pure _darkness_. There’s a place for me here, sure, _now,_ but after the – after Xehanort’s gone? Don’t pretend I’m not next on the chopping block! Look at my fucking _eyes_! I’m never gonna be anything but darkness!” He panted, winded after his outburst, but Roxas was looking at him strangely.

            “Your… eyes…?” he asked, apparently confused.

            Vanitas rolled them. “Yeah. Gold means darkness, remember?” he said. “Not like all you blue-eyed chucklefucks.”

            Roxas was frowning. “Stay here,” he said, getting up.

            “Huh?”

            “I need to go grab something. Stay here.”

            “Or what?” Vanitas asked. “You’ll kill me?”

            Roxas looked over at him. “Sure, if that’s the motivation you need.” He walked around a corner and Vanitas heard a zipping sound as he stepped into his coat, then the telltale sound of a Dark Corridor opening and closing.

            “What the fuck,” he murmured under his breath.

            Roxas appeared again a few minutes later, during which time, mostly out of boredom, Vanitas had started to eat the ice cream. The fact that it was delicious pissed him off to no end. “Here,” Roxas said, and tossed Vanitas what looked like a small pink clamshell.

            “What’s this?”

            “A mirror. Sorry, first one I could find in the dollar store,” Roxas said. “You haven’t used one since you got back, have you.” It was a statement, not a question.

            “What are you talking about?” Vanitas said, cracking open the casing and looking at his reflection in the mirror. There was that handsome bastard again, same black hair, same pale skin, same…

            What the fuck.

            “‘Cause if you had used a mirror, you probably would have noticed,” Roxas continued, like he hadn’t spoken.

            Vanitas moved a slow, shaking hand towards his eyes, gaze still locked on the mirror.

            His eyes, once the same honey gold as Xehanort’s, were now a bright emerald green. It was as if someone had layered Sora’s royal blue over his gold, merging the two colours.

            “What the fuck…” he whispered to himself.

            “It’s a good look with your hair, if you ask me,” Roxas said. “So, no, Vanitas, I don’t think you’re ‘pure’ darkness anymore. Or, you don’t have to be if you don’t want to. I think you have a choice.” He tilted his head. “Though, that does mean you’ve been _choosing_ to be a douchebag. I know it’s all you’ve known, but I guess we all have to start somewhere.”

            “I… but… my heart…” Vanitas gasped.

            Roxas shrugged. “Ven’s became whole again after those twelve years in Sora. He regrew the darkness he was missing. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to think that maybe, you regrew your light in that time. Congratulations, Vanitas. You’re a whole person.”

            Vanitas was shaking, still staring at his reflection.

            “Did you know that Ven was the strongest voice urging for you to get given a new body?” Roxas continued. He’d learned manipulation from the absolute best, though unlike Axel he was doing it with the best intentions. “And it wasn’t just because he didn’t want you in his body. He pitied you. He pitied that you’d never get the chance to become more than what Xehanort made you. So, when it became apparent you’d get that chance, he was all for it. He doesn’t hate you. I won’t say he likes you, because I don’t think he does, yet. But he doesn’t hate you. Not anymore.”

            Vanitas’s fist clenched tightly around the mirror.

            “Even if you were pure darkness, he still wanted that for you. But, you’re not. You might still skew darker than most, but that’s not all you are anymore. That’s not all you have to be. You’ve been given something more valuable than you could’ve thought possible: a _choice_.” Roxas gently reached out and put a hand on Vanitas’s shoulder. He was too stunned to push him away.

            With short, gentle gasps, the roar of the emotions he’d been bottling up in his ears, a gentle hand reached out not in punishment but in comfort on his shoulder, and with a burning behind his face he’d never felt before, liquid started to pool in Vanitas’s eyes. It built, and built, until it couldn’t be contained anymore, and tears leaked down Vanitas’s cheeks.

            “What… what the fuck is this?” he gasped, feeling everything, too much.

            “Tears? Have you never…?” Roxas said, and suddenly understood. “Of course. Of course, that’s why you can’t summon Unversed! Tears – crying, is how Somebodies release emotion. And I’d say that’s proof positive. Your heart is whole again, Vanitas.” He smiled, ruefully. “You have to have a heart… to cry.”

            Vanitas curled his hands around the mirror, before tossing it aside. “No. No, no, I can’t… you’re lying, I can’t be… I’m not…” He stood up, pushing Roxas’s hand away, still unable to stop the stream of tears down his face, disgusted at himself. “No. Get away from me. No more. I can’t deal with this anymore. I refuse!”

            Before Roxas could stop him, he stepped off of the clocktower, and started to fall.

            A Dark Corridor opened behind him before he moved more than a foot through the air, preventing Roxas’s heart attack. As he watched, another Corridor opened at the foot of the clocktower and Vanitas shot out of it, running straight for –

            “Oh, not the sewers!” Roxas groaned.

            The sewers of Twilight Town, according to Hayner, Pence, and Olette, were still chock full of Nobodies. Specifically, Dusks and Creepers. The kind that wouldn’t think twice about attacking someone.

            “Fuck,” Roxas muttered to himself, summoning a Dark Corridor of his own and struggling back into his coat. “Way to go, Roxas. Make a guy cry and run away from you. Real good people skills.”

           

 

            Roxas ran into the sewer, figuring he could just wait until the screaming started and go from there.

            “No, Xion would yell at me, and Sora would do that stupid pouting face thing again,” he muttered, starting to run again. Hopefully he could find Vanitas and get out before anyone got hurt.

            He sorely missed his Keyblade.

            If Roxas had been fonder of the man, he might have actually been thankful to Saïx for all the times he’d sent him through Twilight Town’s sewers, because it meant he had a rather good internal map of the place. But such considerations were far from his mind.

            “Vanitas!” he called. “I’m not chasing you, it’s dangerous in here alone!” There was, predictably, no response.

            “I’m not kidding, there’re lesser Nobodies down here! We need to get out!” Nothing.

            And then a scream.

            “Fuck,” Roxas hissed, and rushed towards it.

            He found Vanitas backing down towards what he knew was a dead end, hurling spells at dozens of puppetlike Nobodies to no avail. “The fuck are these things?!” he demanded, noticing Roxas enter.

            “Long story, this is what Nobodies look like if they don’t look like people,” Roxas said, transposing himself between them. Vanitas’s magic had been doing nothing to the onrush, and they were running out of hallway. “Still can’t summon your Keyblade?”

            Vanitas shook his head, in a panic. There were still tears leaking down his face. “Of course not,” Roxas muttered, “Nothing can be easy for us.” He spotted a length of pipe on the ground and scooped it up, brandishing it at the Dusks. “Stay behind me!”

            “Roxas, that’s a _stick!_ ” Vanitas hissed, still terrified.

            Roxas looked at him and grinned. “Oh, you’d be surprised what I can do with a stick,” he said, much more confidently than he actually felt, and turned back to the Dusks. “All right. Who wants some?!”

            The first Dusk launched itself towards him, and Roxas slammed it out of the air with a solid _thwack_. It reeled, and he gave the same treatment to the next two. “Try again!” he yelled with a confidence he still wasn’t feeling.

            They did.

            Vanitas couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Roxas was clearly outmatched, clearly couldn’t keep this up, and yet he was still fighting. He’d known these things were in here, obviously, and he’d threatened Vanitas’s life three times in the past couple hours. And yet, here he was, defending him.

            One of the Dusks slipped through Roxas’s guard and lunged towards Vanitas, but Roxas flipped around to its other side, bringing the pipe around onto its lack of a face as its body writhed, trying to keep up with the Reversal. “You’re not going to _fucking_ touch him!” he shouted, and something twitched within Vanitas’s heart.

            He wondered if this is what Ventus had felt, knowing Aqua and Terra would watch over him.

            For once, feeling something wasn’t painful.

            Roxas was flagging fast. The pipe he had was heavy, but without a Keyblade or some other weapon, he couldn’t actually dispatch the Nobodies. At best, he was just holding them off, but unless something changed, there was nothing he could do. But he’d be _damned_ if he let it end here, for himself, or for Vanitas. He couldn’t hurt Xion and Axel like that. And Vanitas, after everything he’d been through, didn’t deserve to die here.

            He’d protect both of them, no matter what it took.

            In the middle of a combination, something changed.

            As Roxas struck out at another Dusk, he lost his grip on the pipe.

            It flew out of his hands, clattering against the far wall, but he was already moving into the next swing before he noticed. With a scream, he swung his empty arm –

            And the Dusk burst into brilliant light, and vanished.

            His arm felt oddly heavy. His eyes widened when he realized what had replaced the pipe.

            Two angelic wings comprised the guard, and the shaft split into two tines. One, at the teeth, folded itself into a heart; the other into a starburst that resembled the ancient Destiny Islands symbol that meant ‘light’. It was a pale ivory, save for gold and dark blue on the wrought heart, and an ice blue on the teeth that faded into a dark blue, then lightened back into a gold.

            “Oathkeeper…?” he murmured, enraptured. That made sense, actually. He’d been expecting his own Kingdom Key, but there was only ever the one of those.

            Curious, he looked at the Keychain. Instead of the Wayfinder Sora had received from Kairi, a white seashell hung from the blade. “Huh…” he muttered, then looked up and grinned.

            Back in business.

            He hefted his Keyblade, and charged.

 

 

            “… I don’t understand why.”

            “There isn’t always a ‘why’, Vanitas,” Roxas said. They had returned to the clocktower, none the worse for wear. “’Specially when it comes to helping others. If I had to put it into words…” he looked out at the sunset and squinted. “…it feels bad to know that others are hurting and you could stop it, but you don’t. I guess that’s it.”

            “But I’m…”

            “No,” Roxas interrupted. “Right there, you were ‘someone in danger’. That bothered me. So, I stepped in.” There were worse impulses he could have gotten from Sora, Roxas supposed. At least he didn’t feel the need to smile all the damn time.

            Vanitas was silent.

            “The phrase you’re looking for is ‘thank you’, by the way,” Roxas said, a bit amused.

            Vanitas’s head snapped up. “Wha–”

            “How does me saving you feel?” Roxas asked.

            Vanitas looked back down. “Like I’m weak and pathetic. But, even so, you stepped in and saved me. I feel… like things would have turned out badly if you hadn’t been there. Like I’m better off because you did what you did.”

            Roxas nodded. “That’s called ‘gratitude’. So you say, ‘thank you’.”

            Vanitas looked up at him again and scowled.

            Roxas shrugged. “We’ll work on it. How are you feeling about having a complete heart?”

            “I don’t fucking know,” Vanitas whispered. He felt… lighter, after the whole crying thing. Like a weight had been taken off. It was a bit like how he’d felt after releasing Unversed, but less empty, more just numb. And this time, there wouldn’t be a spike of pain every time someone destroyed one of his emotions, because they hadn’t left him in a form that could be hurt. That would take some getting used to.

            Roxas nodded. “I guess you just got access to the whole other half of the emotional spectrum, huh? Or, just realized you can access it. Emotions are confusing. You don’t need to know completely how you feel about everything.”

            “Roxas… I’m still angry,” Vanitas said, confusion evident in his voice.

            Roxas sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m still a bit angry, too. All the time. If it doesn’t go away, you learn to live with it.”

            They settled into silence for a bit, each boy alone with his thoughts.

            Eventually, Vanitas spoke up.

            “…Once.”

            “Huh?”

            “I looked in a mirror once. The first time I woke up.”

            “When you were still in Ven?”

            Vanitas nodded. “That’s why I knew I needed a body, even if I didn’t think there was any way to get one, that it was impossible. I looked in a mirror, and saw Ventus looking back at me. My old body back. My old face back. Where I fucking _belonged_. And do you know what the first thought that ran through my head was?”

            “What was it?” Roxas asked, softly.

            “‘This isn’t my face,’” Vanitas said, with a noise that was half a chuckle and half a sob. “That’s when I knew I was screwed.”

            “Well, the impossible is kind of our shtick,” Roxas pointed out. “You’re in good hands.”

            Vanitas sighed. “Why does it hurt, when I think about Aqua and Ventus?”

            “I think, I’m not sure, but I think, you might have finally unearthed a conscience,” Roxas said. “The little thing that tells you off when you do something you know is bad. Sora’s is a cricket that lives in his hood.”

            “I don’t… feel bad about what I did twelve years ago,” Vanitas said. “I would’ve died if I didn’t do it.”

            “I get that,” Roxas said. “I think we all do, even Aqua. So is it the way you’ve been acting, maybe? Over the past couple of days?”

            Vanitas didn’t answer.

            “It doesn’t feel good, hurting other people. Does it?” Roxas asked, gently.

            “…it never did. It just felt less bad if I wasn’t the only one in pain,” Vanitas said. “Nothing felt good, back then. So why should anyone else feel good, if I can’t?”

            “But… you can, now.”

            “But I _don’t_.”

            “Give it time. Live. It’ll come. And if it doesn’t, well, there are ways to help with that.” Roxas patted his shoulder. Vanitas didn’t flinch away. “And there is one thing you can do, right now, to help yourself feel better. Apologize.”

            “What?”

            “Apologize, at least for what you’ve said since coming back. To Ven, and to Aqua. Not because it’s what you’re expected to do, but because you’ll feel better about yourself.”

            Vanitas didn’t answer, turning away. Roxas frowned.

            “Do you think it’ll be easy? Right now, walking up to them, owning what you said, stating that you understand that you were wrong?”

            “…no.”

            “No. Then why do you think apologizing makes you weak, Vanitas? Sounds like it takes a fuckton of strength to me.”

            Vanitas sighed. “Roxas, I don’t… _like them_ ,” he said.

            Roxas nodded, patting his shoulder again. “I guessed that,” he said, drily. “And neither of them like you. But you don’t have to like each other as people to work together. Take it from me. I still fucking hate Riku’s guts for what he did to Xion and me. And Sora is just… too damn happy, all the fucking time.”

            A smirk made its way to Vanitas’s lips. “Agreed.”

            “But. I work with them. I might not like them, but that doesn’t make them bad people. I’ll gladly fight alongside them, because that’s how we’ll keep everyone we care about safe.”

            Vanitas sighed. “Guess dying with other people’s better than dying alone,” he mumbled.

            Roxas smirked. “That’s the spirit.” He stood up and stretched. “Well, better go face the music. Yen Sid’s probably mad at me.”

            Vanitas caught his wrist as he stood up. “Roxas?”

            “Huh?”

            He sighed again. “I haven’t… felt… fuck, I don’t know the word for it. When you like someone but you’d rather slap them than hold them?”

            Roxas supressed an ugly honk of laughter at his phrasing. “Uh, platonic affection? Friendship?”

            “That. I haven’t felt that since… sixteen years ago. I think. My memory of beyond that is kind of shit but I _think_ I… I think Ventus had friends.” He sighed yet again, looked away, at the tower, the sky, anywhere but Roxas. “It’s… I know I’m an asshole, but…”

            “Some of my best friends are assholes,” Roxas deadpanned, still smirking.

            Vanitas glared at him. “Shut up and let me talk. If… if you wanted to… I wouldn’t hate it if… if _you_ called me Van.”

            Slowly, Roxas smiled, without a hint of malice, or teasing, or sass, or sarcasm. It was, though he’d never admit it and would probably threaten the life of whoever pointed it out, a very Sora smile.

            “If that’s what you want, Van, I’d be glad to.”

 

 

            Roxas walked back into the common room after going to see Yen Sid and putting his coat away. Vanitas had clung to him like a cat, wanting to be in the same room but not to be acknowledged, at least until the debriefing was done. Roxas wasn’t sure if the obvious change in Vanitas’s demeanor had had anything to do with the fact that he wasn’t in trouble, but either way, Yen Sid had merely thanked him for his demonstration of the hole in their security measures and congratulated him on regaining the use of his Keyblade, before sending the both of them off. He’d also said that Roxas would still have to train for a while before being sent on missions, but eventually, if he proved himself capable, he’d be added to the rotation.

            Vanitas had ditched him halfway down the stairs, saying there was something he still had to do. Roxas figured he meant talk to Aqua and Ven. He wished him luck.

            Lea and Xion were both still on the couch, Xion having swapped position so her head was now in Lea’s lap. “Roxas!” she called as he walked in the room, and held out her arms towards him without shifting position.

            He grinned, and walked over to hug her, pulling her into a sitting position as he did so. “Well, I take it short, dark, and pissy isn’t dead, then?” Lea said.

            Roxas rolled his eyes, “No, he’s not, though not for lack of trying.” At their confused expressions, he explained what had happened in Twilight Town.

            Lea let out a low whistle. “He didn’t realize his eyes were green this whole time? Holy shit.”

            “Or that he even could grow and change,” Xion added. “It sounds like the talk was good for him.”

            “I think so,” Roxas agreed. “Although, I have some bad news, Axel. I think you’ve been replaced from the position of ‘asshole friend’.”

            “Aw, damn, thought I had that one in the bag,” Lea teased, mussing his hair. “But, wait. How did you guys escape the Nobodies? You couldn’t have Corridored out, they’d’ve just followed you.”

            Slowly, Roxas smiled. “Well, I left that out on purpose. I’ve got something to show you.” He stood back up, grinning broadly, and held out his hand.

            Oathkeeper appeared in a bright yellow flash.

            Lea’s mouth dropped open, and Xion’s face lit up with a brilliant smile. “Roxas, that’s fantastic! Your Keyblade’s back!”

            Roxas banished it, still beaming. “Yep! Are… are you okay with that, Xion?”

            She frowned. “Why wouldn’t I…? Oh.” She shook her head, as she stood up and took his hand. “Mine will come back in time. Right now, I’m just happy for you.” She smiled, and Roxas could tell it was completely genuine.

            He smiled back and hugged her. “I love you.”

            She giggled. “I love you, too.”

            “Eh, you two’re all right. As brats go,” Lea said, still seated on the couch, grinning.

            Roxas and Xion both flipped him the bird as they leaned in for a kiss. Lea sat back, smirking.

            Five minutes later he was studying the watch he wasn’t wearing. “Okay, seriously, how’re you two still breathing? That’s gotta be some kind of record.”

**Author's Note:**

> The wonderful thing about writing, especially writing fanfiction, is that I can neglect to describe a character's attribute, and you the readers will fill in the gap on your own. Look back; I never said Vanitas's eyes were still gold, just that "Sora's had never been that colour". And to the best of my knowledge, at no point has Sora ever had green eyes.  
> The title of this fic is based on a book/series of books about parenting, namely "How To Talk So Kids Will Listen, and Listen So Kids Will Talk". My mother worked in early childhood education, so we've had childcare books sitting around the house for about as long as I can remember.  
> The reason why Roxas's version of Oathkeeper has a seashell instead of a wayfinder as the Keychain will become clear in time. Yes, this means Xion will be getting Oblivion when her Keyblade comes back. As for why Oathkeeper in particular for Roxas, it's a little bit because people tend to give him the more "masculine" Oblivion, and Xion Oathkeeper, but it's mostly because of Days. The Keychain that lets you play as dual-wielding Roxas has three variations, changed by adding and removing panels to it. Without any panels, it's the Kingdom Key, but with endgame-level stats (the Kingdom Key+). With three panels, it's the dual-wield. With two panels, it's Two Become One.  
> With only one panel, it's Oathkeeper. (Riku, using the same gear, gets Oblivion at one panel). Thus, I consider Oathkeeper to belong to Roxas.  
> I'm still working on the next multichapter, not close to being done with it, but I do know exactly what's going to be happening in it, for the most part. I've had one Insomnio-style surprise thus far, but it'll make the entire fic stronger, I believe.  
> Regardless, the next fic goes up two weeks from today. Things have been happening back at the Tower while Roxas and Van have been having this chat, and we'll be popping back in to take a look at them. Plus, there's one conversation Vanitas still needs to have.  
> Oh, and one other thing in terms of planning. Lea explaining why tears happen to Roxas and Xion back in fal-tor-pan happened specifically so that Roxas could explain them to Vanitas here.  
> Until next time!


End file.
